Professor Barbara Atwell was appointed as Director of Diversity Initiatives on February 3, 2009. Prior to that, she served as the Director of the Health Law and Policy Program until 2005. Professor Atwell was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and an editor of the Columbia Journal of Law and Social Problems while attending Columbia Law School. From there she clerked for Judge Nathaniel R. Jones of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Professor Atwell subsequently joined Arnold & Porter in Washington, DC, as an associate. While there, her areas of practice included communication, government contracts and civil rights. She helped draft and edit Cable Franchising and Regulation: A Local Government Guide to the New Law. Professor Atwell has served on the Board of Directors of Practicing Attorneys for Law Students and is a former member of the Tort Litigation Committee of the New York City Bar Association. She is the author of various law review articles.